things that should or shouldn't be
by gote
Summary: The head boy and the under-achiever, who'd have thought? Fifty sentences written for the 50 or Nothing Challenge on The NextGen Fanatics forum. -TeddyJamesII- -slash-


_AN: Fifty sentences detailing the relationship of Teddy Lupin and James Sirius Potter from fifty different prompts. For the '50 or Nothing' challenge on The NextGen Fanatics forum.__ I know some of these shouldn't get away with being counted as one sentence, but I tried. ;D I'm usually very wordy and haven't tried this pairing before, nor ever used prompts, now that I think about it, so this was really different for me. Please let me know what you think. :)_

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><p><strong>things that should or shouldn't be<strong>

_1. "Because I told you so!"  
><em>_"Because I told you so!" _was never a good enough reason for James and it doesn't take long for Teddy to drop all pretence of babysitting and they stay up past both their bedtimes watching movies and eating biscuits and it's during this time that everything's how it's surely supposed to be.

_2. nameless face  
><em>With the help of his metamorphagis abilities Teddy disappears for a while, needing to know what it'd feel like to be just another nameless face in a crowd.

_3. water works  
><em>Victoire only needs to turn on the waterworks for Teddy to be guilted back into her perfectly manicured talons.

_4. strange  
><em>Teddy's back and it's strange because really it's only been a couple years since he left, but it feels like a lifetime and he's not the only one who's changed.

_5. sixteen  
><em>James isn't sixteen anymore and Teddy can't seem to get used to it.

_6. reasons  
><em>For reasons Teddy doesn't even want to consider, he always seems to lose track of his sentence when James enters the room.

_7. queer  
><em>"So you like boys now?" Teddy asks in shock, to a shrug and a smile and "_I always have_."

_8. follow  
><em>"Mum and I think it explains why he spent his whole childhood following you around," says Lily to Teddy, giggling, "he had a _cruuuuush_!"

_9. breaking point  
><em>Teddy's reaching breaking point and he wonders whether he's spent his whole life looking at things the wrong way, or if everything's really changed this much.

_10. remember  
><em>Teddy remembers when things were simple, when James was just his little god-brother, not this attractive, alluring man who's slowly stealing his heart with his warm eyes and welcoming smiles.

_11. metre  
><em>Victoire's away with work and suddenly James never seems to be more than a metre away and Teddy can't bring himself to pretend to care.

_12. long distance  
><em>Easy to say, neither Teddy nor Victoire keeps up their end of their long distance relationship agreement.

_13. kings and queens  
><em>Teddy's still looking at the name of the club (_'Kings and Queens'_) apprehensively but James just laughs and to Teddy's surprise and quickening heartbeat, takes his hand with a _"Just go with it,"_ and for some reason Teddy does.

_14. bus stop  
><em>James teaches him to dance the _Bus Stop_ and Teddy can't stop laughing, let alone move his feet to any rhythm.

_15. confessions  
><em>Teddy's more than a little intoxicated but he still can't believe the confession that slips from his mouth, _"I can't stop thinking about you."_

_16. venture  
><em>_"Then don't,"_ James replies in the instant before their lips crash together and Teddy finds himself venturing into something new and undoubtedly wrong, but far too good to pass up.

_17. owls  
><em>Teddy can't believe the ridiculous amount of owls James receives over breakfast or how James just shrugs and laughs, "_We can't all be extraordinarily good looking, talented professional Quidditch players."_

_18. late night phone calls  
><em>Late night phone calls to Victoire had been hard enough before he had James snuggled up beside him each night, tracing patterns onto his stomach (where smiley faces turn to frowns once Teddy's picks up the phone).

_19. before the time  
><em>Before the time of lies and stolen kisses Teddy was sure he'd been a good person.

_20. growing fonder  
><em>For some reason it takes his grandma noticing (_"You seem to be growing fonder of that Potter boy") _for Teddy to snap out of the haze of yeah-this-can-work, and I'm-not-_really_-doing-anything-wrong, and he panics and calls it off with James, just in time for Victoire's return.

_21. "Oh, grow up!"  
><em>"Oh, grow up!" he shouts, and it's ironic because he's the one who's eight years younger, but it's Teddy storming away and flipping a rude gesture which James gladly returns.

_22. adamant  
><em>Victoire's grip tightens on his arm whenever they pass a good looking guy, and Teddy's adamant that she _knows_, and he's left wondering why they both keep pretending.

_23. jealousy  
><em>James isn't completely oblivious, he can read more than just words, and Victoire's signs all seem to spell out _jealousy_, but he knows that can't be right because after all Teddy's made it quite clear that he's chosen his life of lies and attempts at keeping the piece and **_her._**

_24. green  
><em>Dominique teaches James all about _clothes_ and _colours_ and _hidden meanings_ and James wears green to Teddy and Victoire's wedding.

_25. wait  
><em>He's had quite enough of waiting so of course he speaks, there's no way he could "forever hold his peace" and he's _James Potter _and dramatics come naturally to him so of course he does it now, but he feels like his heart is being torn to pieces before his eyes and he can't believe this is really happening (he's loved Teddy all his life and it was never meant to happen like this), but his voice is flat and he just says it, simply, so it's nothing more than a statement of fact and he's out of the church before it can fall down around him like the fragments of his life already have.

_26. rainstorm  
><em>Once outside, James curls in on himself, his body rocking with sobs, and it feels like the rainstorm's happening inside him rather than out.

_27. swearing  
><em>He's swearing at the sky and waiting for it to fall down upon him.

_28. zero  
><em>He knows he's reached point zero when Teddy never follows after him, but he should never have expected something so _cliché_.

_29. deemed impossible  
><em>James has already deemed it impossible but he doesn't know the wedding's been called off, _by the groom himself._

_30. "Why?"  
><em>"Why?" she asks, her voice hollow and pretty face red with tears and all Teddy can do is shake his head sadly, _"Don't pretend you didn't know."_

_31. fairytale  
><em>"You're right, you and I were never going to be a fairytale, but do you really think you and _James _will be?" She spits out his name like it's poison and Teddy barely has time for the anger to clench in his stomach before she's continuing, "'The Boy and the Man.' It's not _sweet, _Teddy. It's messed up. You're messed up!"

_32. melody  
><em>He never meant her spiteful words to affect him, but they haunt him more than any melody ever could. _("You're messed up!")_

_33. clouds with silver linings  
><em>Teddy can't go see James _("It's messed up!")_ and maybe he's free from Victoire, but he's not sure that clouds with silver linings are enough.

_34. afterwards  
><em>Afterwards, when no one will talk to him (not his family, not Teddy), James throws himself into Quidditch with such ferocity it's frightening.

_35. generous  
><em>"I don't care, Lily! I was generous enough to give him my heart and he was cruel enough to throw it to the floor."

_36. near future  
><em>Looking into even just the near future, Teddy finds he can't stand the thought of it being without James.

_37. weary  
><em>Teddy gets him cornered but the way James looks at him with weary, distrustful eyes feels like a stab to Teddy's heart, and when James walks away it's like the knife's being twisted around and around.

_38. invest  
><em>Teddy invests all his time and effort, corny lines and sweet tricks into trying to make it up to James and eventually, it works.

_39. lesson learnt  
><em>"I've learnt my lesson, James, please; I can't lose you again."

_40. feature  
><em>James still pretends to be angry sometimes, but his heart's not in it and he always lapses into his smile that Teddy knows is the redeeming feature of any ordinary day.

_41. chocolate  
><em>Teddy wonders if it's too girly to buy another guy chocolates but he knows James'll never object to anything sweet so he buys the ones with squiggly hearts on them.

_42. preview  
><em>Teddy should never of asked what he was going to do that evening, for James lifts his shirt up with a wink, _"Here's a preview."_

_43. overtime  
><em>James is sick of Teddy working overtime, so he stands as a block at the exit of their apartment.

_44. pre-occupied  
><em>_"You're always so serious,"_ says James, pulling Teddy away from the door and Teddy tries to object but James is too pre-occupied with removing Teddy's clothing to listen to a word he's saying and Teddy can't honestly say he minds.

_45. dark lord  
><em>"James, I don't care if it's Halloween, you're the son of _The Boy Who Lived_; you cannot dress up as Lord Voldemort."

_46. quiet song  
><em>There's only the sound of their breathing in the quiet night air until James whispers _"sing me to sleep_" and Teddy does.

_47. earlier  
><em>Earlier, or _'Before James'_, was just a time when Teddy's smiles weren't so easy or so frequent and he can't see himself ever going back,

_48. happiness  
><em>Laughing, talking, joking, hugging, teasing, kissing; they both know that this is what happiness is; together.

_49. true blue  
><em>Teddy's hardly true blue, because he's probably breaking some huge moral code by dating his godfather's young_-ish_ son, but he loves him and shouldn't that be enough?

_50. under-achiever  
><em>The head boy and the under-achiever, who'd have thought?


End file.
